Sinking Spring officials are saying they are also having problems at their sewer plant, and are asking residents to reduce water use.

The Womelsdorf plant flooded at around midnight, and equipment was under about 4 feet of water this morning, Balistrieri said.

There is nowhere else for the discharge to go but into the creek, which flows into the Schuylkill River, he said.

"The Tulpehocken Creek is part of the sewer plant right now," he said.

The creek is still rising in part because it runs east from Lebanon County, where flooding was even heavier, he said.

Once the creek subsides, water will be pumped from the plant, and then temporary pumps will be hooked up to treat the sewage until damaged equipment is repaired or replaced, he said.

That process could take several days, he said.

On Wednesday, Kutztown officials notified residents to refrain from using the sewer as the system was overloaded due to the heavy rain. Officials warned residents that sewage might back up into houses.